DemoLinux Question

jnibori · #1 April 29th, 2003, 08:24 PM

I am completely unfamiliar with Linux, but I wish to learn about it.

I have downloaded both DemoLinux, and Knoppix Linux. http://www.demolinux.org/en/accueil.html
http://www.knoppix.net/

I am not sure what I am doing wrong, but I can't get my system to boot from either of these after I have burned them to a CD, and changed the boot sequence in the BIOS. Windows loads instead. I have the program on the CD, but I can't get it to run. It opens when I double-click it, but that's all.

I have downloaded the 690 plus MB program(s) to a folder on a second hard drive, then copied them to a CD, via Nero. I am assuming I need to do something prior to burning it to the CD, but I can't figure out exactly what.

If somebody is familiar with either of these and has a moment, could you please post a step-by-step for me.

Thanks in advance.

**Tweaker** · #2 April 29th, 2003, 09:09 PM

Look in your computer's BIOS (on most computers you need to push the "delete" key during the RAM test) to see whether it is set to boot from CD. If this is already set, your computer may not be able to read the CD (some notebooks have problems with black-coated CD's, for example).

Some computers will only use the new BIOS settings after a hard reset. If your computer doesn't support booting from CD, you can create a boot floppy using the "rawrite" program in the "KNOPPIX" directory on the CD.

Get the Smart Boot Manager, and install to floppy, this should let you boot from any bootable CD.

http://btmgr.gnuchina.org/index.php3?body=download.html

Hope this helps.

jnibori · #3 April 29th, 2003, 09:27 PM

Hi and thanks.

I do have my BIOS set to boot from the CD, and I have booted from other CDs many times before. I have burned both of these programs a couple of times and verified the data was wtriiten to the CD.

I guess my question is this: Can I just download either of the programs, then burn/copy them to a CD, or do I need to do something before burning them?

**Tweaker** · #4 April 29th, 2003, 09:49 PM

You have to burn the iso as an image, not just copy/burn them to CD.

jnibori · #5 April 30th, 2003, 08:36 AM

Thanks, I got it working now.

**Tweaker** · #6 April 30th, 2003, 08:43 AM

Your welcome jnibori, glad to hear it.

jnibori · #7 May 1st, 2003, 04:40 AM

I wanted to say that this free Knoppix Linux OS, that runs from the CD, is actually very sweet. I am surprised more people don't talk it up. Seems like a fail safe way to get on-line if things get messed up. It will be fun exploring it.

BTW - That's exactly what the problem was. I initially copied it as data, not burned as an image.

jnibori · #8 May 1st, 2003, 05:12 AM

One more quick question -

This OS seems as if it contains the entire file system on the CD, so, in essence, I would assume I could run it if both of my hard drives totally stopped working. Does it use anything from my system, other than the hardware? And will the changes I made, like having the mouse accelerate, be cleared when I shut down and re-boot to Windows?

Thanks in advance.

**smurfy** · #9 May 1st, 2003, 12:06 PM

I don't know but I know an easy (safe) way to test the theory.
Reboot.
Enter your BIOS setup.
Disable your Hard disks (change from auto to none or whatever options you may have).
Boot Knoppix from CD.
Does it work?

As far as saving settings - I can't see how it could as it can't write to the disk, may save it in RAM which would be unloaded on reboot.

jnibori · #10 May 7th, 2003, 05:04 AM

A friend of mine (an IT guy) is going to do just that. He is going to disable the hard drives and see how Knoppix works.

From what I understand, it is a "zero footprint" (puts nothing on the HD) OS that runs on it's own. He feels that it needs to copy data to the HD as it becomes uncompressed. He does not feel an average system has enough RAM where it could not uncompress to the hard drive. I don't know enough about it, so we'll have to see. I will post his results when he is finished.

**smurfy** · #11 May 7th, 2003, 05:22 AM

http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

Quote:

Question: "But my computer doesn't have that much RAM, so some programs on the CD won't run at all or will only run very slowly. Is there some trick that I can use to run KDE and the office programs/graphics/games?"
Yes. After a swap partition has been initialized, Linux can add the missing RAM from an area of the hard disk that has been reserved for this purpose. KNOPPIX recognizes and automatically uses any available swap partitions. Optionally, a swap partition can be added manually. However, only experienced users should try this, since repartitioning of the hard drive is required.
Version 1.5 and later of KNOPPIX can use an existing DOS partition for its Linux swap data (command mkdosswapfile or in the KDE menus under "Knoppix"). This also allows one to work with less RAM. The swap data knoppix.swp on this partition can be erased later to free up space for other things.

Quote:

KNOPPIX 3.2 available
Possibility to create a persistent homedir with personal data and desktop settings on a memory stick or similar, optional with AES encryption.

twistedcranium · #12 May 24th, 2003, 08:44 PM

If you're loving Knoppix....
You'll definitely want to check out the knoppix-cheatcodes .

Great for systems that aren't 100% linux hardware compatible or for bypassing trouble spots.